ConstructionTeam.ca Construction Management Services For Homeowners
Kawartha Lakes Region
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Construction manager vs. general contractor or builder?
Is it better to hire a construction manager or general contractor?
When planning to build a custom home, cottage, add an addition or do an interior renovation, and looking to save money, one of the most important decisions you’ll face is which delivery model to use.
The standard approach is to hire a general contractor as part of a design-bid-build model. But is that really your best option? Which is better, a general contractor or construction management?
That choice influences every phase of the project and impacts the budget, the schedule, and the quality of the completed work.
In most cases, there is a clear answer.
It all comes down to which “side of the table” you want your builder sitting on.
What is construction management?
Unlike general contractors or builders, construction management services contract with the homeowner for a fixed fee. This fee replaces the lump sum a general contractor would charge to cover their overhead and profit.
The Construction manager works with industry teams to draw up plans and procures the resources necessary in a collaborative and open-book fashion.
Actual costs are accumulated competitively and visibly, and the homeowner pays only those costs plus the construction manager’s fee.
So which “side of the table” do you want your builder sitting on?
Once a general contractor or builder is hired in a lump sum, fixed price or time & material environment, they have an incentive to protect or enhance their profit margin. After all, any saving opportunities revert to the contractor—even if those opportunities aren’t optimal for the client.
As a result, the general contractor’s interests don’t always align with those of the homeowner. This places the general contractor on the other side of the table.
A construction manager, however, works on a fixed fee as an extension of the owner’s team. It’s in their best interest to meet—and exceed—the homeowner’s goals for schedule, budget, and quality of construction.
Thus, the construction manager’s interests align with those of the homeowner.
They’re both sitting on the same side of the table.